


claustrophobe

by d3vilsivy



Series: Tomi's Super Ethical Reality Climax [1]
Category: Saints Row, Saints Row 1 - Fandom
Genre: Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Trans Character, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26195056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d3vilsivy/pseuds/d3vilsivy
Summary: johnny and tomi get sloshed and process lin's death.
Relationships: Boss/Lin (Saints Row)
Series: Tomi's Super Ethical Reality Climax [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896139
Kudos: 3





	claustrophobe

**Author's Note:**

> finally broke down and watched all the sr1 cutscenes cus i still dont have an xbox or the know-how to fuck with an emulator, and it turns out tomi really likes women who can kick her ass. also, i continue to be an absolute sucker for smoky alto voices.
> 
> technically everyone was using he/him for tomi in sr1 thru 2, but the thought of writing that feels deeply uncomfortable and bizarre, and she's still figuring out her gender at this point anyway, so i just went with they/them as a neutral replacement. this is why i wrote my first pre-sr3 fic in first person :')

it had been several days since lin died. johnny was driving to the hospital to pick up the new kid, who was finally getting released. julius had already taken care of the bill, so johnny took it upon himself to take care of the kid.

they weren't very talkative to begin with, but they'd communicated nothing to anyone since handing julius the brief, bare-bones report they'd had to write left-handed, having been shot through their right shoulder. they were somewhat ambidextrous, but moreso with a gun than a pen. also, their hands looked like they'd spent an hour punching a brick wall. it took some thinking to decipher the resulting chicken scratch, which johnny left to dex.

the report said the kid had been working with lin on the rollerz when they were both drawn into a trap, locked in the trunk of her car, shot point blank, and then rolled into the river. lin didn't make it out alive.

they didn't say what else had gone down, but he knew the kid pretty well by now and he was sure they would have saved her if it was at all possible. they'd been pining after her ever since they'd joined: always perked up at the mention of her, always followed her across a room with their gaze like a flower follows the sun, a small dumb smile warming their eyes. johnny could hardly blame them. she was fucking gorgeous, but more than that, she was whip-smart and tough as hell. he'd always liked her.

it was hard to believe she was really gone.

he pulled up to the hospital entrance and the kid was already waiting on the sidewalk. they looked normal enough in their leather jacket, but the bandages covering their chest and arm peeked out at the collar, and their hands were still wrapped up. they got into the car, and muttered a gruff "thanks" without looking at him.

johnny figured the whole experience must have done a number on them. he knew he'd be blackout drunk for as long as he could get away with if something like that happened to him and aisha. but they didn't have that kind of time. they needed to make a move on the rollerz again soon before they lost their momentum.

"so, here's the plan. you and me get shitfaced tonight, sleep it off, bury lin tomorrow night. then, we get revenge on those motherfuckers."

no response. he looked over to see them staring out the window, and leaned into their space to get their attention.

"hey, playa, you heard me?"

they met his eyes, and he noticed they looked like they hadn't slept for shit. they nodded.

"i was thinkin’ we hit the liquor store and take the goods back to my place. not really in the mood for a crowded bar."

he got silence again, and took it as agreement.

..

a couple of hours later, night of the living dead was playing on the tv, the two of them sitting opposite it on a surprisingly comfortable couch where tomi had spent the night more than once. bottles and shot glasses littered the coffee table, along with some old mail pinned to the wood by a gleaming bowie knife.

tomi had lost track of how much they'd drunk, but considering they barely felt their injuries anymore, it was probably a lot. johnny was sloshed enough that he'd started yelling at the tv. if stilwater was ever taken over by zombies, he would either go out in a blaze of glory or survive by his uncanny ability to rack up a body count. his antics went a long way in distracting tomi--he even got a few smiles and laughs out of them. but soon the credits were rolling and they felt like they were sinking again, and with so much booze in their veins, they couldn’t keep silent any more.

“there’s something wrong with me.”  
“huh?”  
"she kept telling me it was gonna be fine and we were gonna get out, but i couldn’t stop hitting the lid of the trunk. couldn’t even think in there.”  
"so that's why your hands are all tore up."  
"i hit it so much that bastard couldn't get it open when we got to the river. he had to shoot the lock. wanted to show donnie his girl was a liar before she died."  
"his girl?"  
"not really, she just let him believe it. i think."  
"what about you?"  
"hm?"  
"were you in love with her too?"

tomi ducked their head. 

"...maybe? i don't fuckin know. i've never been in love, but i never met a woman like her before, either."  
“broke the mold when they made her.”

tomi poured them each another shot, and knocked theirs back.

“i kicked the trunk open after he pushed us over, but when i got us back to the surface, she’d already blacked out. there wasn’t a way back up those goddamn concrete walls nearby so she died before we reached land.”

they were both quiet for a moment before johnny spoke.

“you’re damn lucky to be alive, playa.”

tomi just stared at him. he continued.

“haulin’ her dead weight in that nasty water with a bullet in your shoulder? you shoulda died too, but you made it. couple months, all you'll have to show for it are a few scars."  
"the fuck are you tryna say?"  
"shut up and listen. most folks don't get this kinda luck, not even lin. but you did. what you gotta do now is grab life by the balls. you murder the guy who killed lin, and you go out and keep challenging fate every fuckin day for the rest of your life."  
“so, what, i just forget this shit ever happened?”  
“no, you keep it with you, and you fuck shit up for the people who ain’t around to do it anymore. lin ain’t the first saint we lost.”

tomi stared at the knife stuck in the table. johnny reached for the second shot they’d poured, but only managed to knock it over. he grabbed a bottle instead and stood up.

“couch is yours. stick around tomorrow and i’ll drive us to the church.”

he made for his room, but paused when tomi spoke again.

“thanks, johnny.”  
“don’t sweat it. good to hear you talkin' too for once.” he grinned, and stumbled back to his bedroom.

**Author's Note:**

> claustrophobe by laura stevenson is a great song but it's not especially relevant to this fic other than tomi being claustrophobic and it's been stuck in my head since i wrote this


End file.
